The land of lost dreams for travellers heading to Britain
THE rite of passage for young Australians to spend two years working in Britain is under threat, with thousands of hopeful travellers being forced to return home after failing to find work.
About 14,000 fewer Australians went to Britain last year compared to 2005, according to figures released by the UK Office of National Statistics.
Mel Feeney is one Australian caught by the spiralling economy. Like hundreds of thousands of Aussies before her, she arrived at Heathrow armed with a university degree, her savings and a willingness to work hard.
The 22-year-old from Rosebery in south-eastern Sydney hoped to spend a few years on a working holiday in London.But after a month of daily job-searching for temp and full-time positions, unpaid trials, agency meetings, interviews and hundred of phone calls, she has been turned down for everything she applied for.
"I had this fantasy of what it would be like over here and now I've experienced how hard it really is to find work," she said. "I wouldn't jump into this situation so easily again,"
Many of the 115,000 Aussie expats are being forced back home. Unemployment is at a 16-year high and more than a million 16-to-24-year-olds in Britain are out of work.Last Thursday Chancellor George Osborne conceded Britain was likely to enter a double-dip recession in the next few months due to the euro crisis. He also warned Brits to brace for 10 years of belt-tightening.
"What we have noticed is there are fewer Aussies than there used to be working during this time or staying beyond their two-year visa for employment," says Carol Driver, editor of TNT Magazine, which caters to young Australians and New Zealanders in Britain."Many of our readers have said they didn't want to leave, and would happily return, but cited a lack of jobs and career progression as the reason for leaving." she said. "Their options are limited."For Ms Feeney a degree in public health, a full CV and British citizenship from her English-born mother did not help, and her one-way ticket is about to become a return.
"My dad gave me until Friday and said if I had no promising jobs then he would pay for my flight home," she said.
The Guardian
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